Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box was actually my introduction to the Layton series. I beat it for the first time just recently, but I have tried to start the game at least a few times over the past decade. I was fascinated by the characters, the puzzles, the mini-games, and everything in between, but I just wasn't dedicated enough to the story or the concept when I first tried it out. However, once I had beaten Curious Village, revisiting Diabolical Box made a lot of sense. Right out of the gate, it is clear that this is a sequel done right. The foundation of the original was strong and remains relatively unaltered here, but quality-of-life changes and fixes to the repetitive nature help this game to vastly outshine its predecessor.

Most of what I found charming and enjoyable about Curious Village still applies here, and practically all of my complaints have been addressed in some way. The cute story and humorous characters return, but now with a larger cast of unique personalities scattered throughout multiple locations rather than a single village. The stakes have also been raised significantly, making the plot more engaging and drawing me further into the curious world of Professor Layton. The puzzles have also been vastly improved in multiple ways. One of my biggest complaints about Curious Village was the constant reuse of puzzle types; even the most novel puzzle can be a drag to solve for the fifth time. Yet, even with a higher puzzle count, Diabolical Box manages to have a lot more variety, and I only caught myself complaining about a reused puzzle once. However, my favorite QOL change read the addition of a memo overlay to the puzzle screen. Once I started using it, I immediately wondered why it wasn't in the series from the start. No longer did I have to write out my thoughts on paper or mentally retrace something on the screen four times just to figure out the solution. Now I can write directly over the main puzzle screen, streamlining the solving-process so much that Curious Village is almost a chore to go back to in retrospect.

I didn't talk much about the actual plot or premise of this game, but the improved structure and mechanics are more than enough reason to give it a chance, especially if you enjoyed Layton's previous outing. Diabolical Box made every big change that I was hoping to see, and I was thoroughly impressed with it the whole way through. I would even go so far as to say that you could start playing the series here. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, especially because it is a continuation of a linear story, but I don't think you'd be too lost as to not enjoy it, and this is where Level-5 really got it right. I guess what I'm saying is that you absolutely should play this series, and if you only have time for one of the games, make it this one.

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